If Thorin could have lived, do you think he would have regretted his greed? What do you think Tolkien is trying to teach us about material wealth by Thorin's death? In your response, site textual evidence to support your response. Use page numbers too
*Answer to March 29, 2011 Question*
I think Thorin would have regretted his greed. He got so caught up in the joy of being in his home again, and he did not want to see his precious treasures go right after he just got them back. I think this blinded him from the rationality of the word SHARE. Now that the great war was over, he would probably regret his meaningless greed, which almost lost him a dear friend, Bilbo. Thorin also put his friendship with the men of lake-town in jeopardy, when in response to Bard's plea for help he said, "to the treasure of my people no man has a claim... but nothing we will give under the threat of force" (265 & 266). In the last moments of his life, Thorin saw what a mess his greed had made of things, and he took back all his words of hatred. I still think that Thorin would have repented even if he was not on his death bed. Without the men of Lake-town and the elves, the dwarves would have been crushed by the goblins, and not giving their friends any of the treasure would result in disaster. As Thorin said in his last few breaths, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world" (290). In this sentence, Tolkien is saying that if we hold gold and material wealth the highest in our lives, disaster is the only outcome. Friends are lost, people are hurt, and lives are torn apart. But, when we hold the treasures of singing karaoke with friends, baking cookies with grandma, and reading stories with Mom closest to our hearts, we will be forever happy. True happiness comes from finding the gold in the hearts of the people around you. It's about finding the silver in the moments shared with family, and the bronze in the laughter of life. If we have "some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure," (290), and we let our Tookish side shine now and then, we will have a happy life, a hobbit's life. It will be full of laughter, tears, and adventure now and then, but there will always be a cozy hobbit hole waiting for us at the end of the day, and that is all we will ever need to be truly content. ~What good thoughts. I think that Tolkien would completely agree with you! Especially the baking cookies part!! ~Mrs. Best
Hobbit Question 3 - March 20, 2011
When Gandolf first visits Bilbo, looking for someone to share in an adventure, Bilbo tells Gandalf that hobbits are
"...plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them "(7).
The dwarves are not quite sure that Bilbo will be able to handle the adventures at all, and Bilbo himself wonders how he found himself at The Green Dragon Inn, riding a pony away from Hobbiton. But now, Bilbo has become the unspoken leader of the party. Without Bilbo, the dwarves would never have made it to Lonely Mountain.
Is an adventure something that happens to us or how we react to what happens? Often in life, adventures are not as obvious as killing giant spiders or escaping from an Elven king's dungeon. Sometimes adventures are made out of ordinary days and ordinary events, with ordinary people who become the heroes. You may not even realize you've been in an adventure until after it's over!
Think about the times you have learned a new skill, moved, changed schools, competed in sports, welcomed a new pet, discovered a new friend, performed in front of an audience, or had a terrifying fall. These events are adventures in process. Have you grown or changed from your experience with any of these situations, as Bilbo grew and changed because of his adventure with the dwarves? Recall a time when something happened to cause you to grow and change in a positive way. Respond on your wiki page
*Answer to March 20, 2011 Question* I felt like I found adventure when I went to a survivor girl scout camp. In this situation I went looking for adventure, but at first I did not think that I would find it. On our very first challenge, a fire challenge, we got last place. In The Hobbit, the same was true when "they [the goblins] seized Bilbo and the dwarves"(60). I could relate to Bilbo in that my team was made up of girls I did not really know. Our camp had just started and it seemed like we would never come out champions. The same was true for Bilbo. His travels had just started with these unfamiliar dwarves, and already their adventure was in jeopardy of failing. Then, he had a stroke of luck, between finding the ring, and getting back to his friends, despite the strenuous circumstances. The same was true in my adventure. Our next challenge was codes and signs with making a path through the woods. Our forest spot was awful, with almost no where to expand our path, but we did our best. Turns out, we got first place in that challenge. Just like Bilbo, where "the dwarves looked at him with quite a new respect"(94), I felt like everyone on my team learned to respect each other's ability's that day. We had a series of other challenges, and I was even named the best listener by my teammates. I can really relate to Bilbo in that he was never the head-honcho, but his contributions were very important. This was especially true when he found "a dozen bundles hanging in a row from a high branch"(157) in the forest, surrounded by spiders. His friends needed him, and he pulled through. That is just like when we had a knot tying challenge at camp. I said that I would do the hardest knot. I was able to pull through along with my friends, and we got first place in this challenge too. Then, the final challenge came around. It had snippets of all the other challenges of the week. This was the final stand, just like when the dwarves had finally come upon "the Desolation of the Dragon"(203). The whole journey from there on, they had to work as a team to reach their goal. The same was true for my survivor team. We all had to work together, otherwise our whole challenge could fall apart. But in the end, our team was victorious. We came out survivor champions. Bilbo and the dwarves were successful too. They worked together, and Smaug was dead. My adventure made me see that everyone has self-worth, and by working as a team, anything is possible. I think that each person in the world can find their own adventure. Some go looking for it, others try to avoid it, but the reality is that adventure can happen on a whim. Even if you go looking for it, you may not find adventure. Adventure finds and captures people, and it is up to the "victim" to decide what they are going to make of the situation. That is exactly what happened to Bilbo. He never wanted anything to do with adventure, but when it showed up on his doorstep he jumped in with it when "something Tookish woke up inside him"(15). I never thought that I would ever be able to read navy flags or follow a compass, but I did. Adventures can be any time when you make the best of a situation and you don't regret it. True adventures are ALWAYS worth the trouble of starting them, because when you finish feeling like you gave it your all, nothing else matters. ~Great job! Sounds like it was really a FUN adventure with a degree of uncertainty... like Bilbo's but minus the danger! ~Mrs. Best
Hobbit Question 2 - March 4, 2011 In your own words, describe what happens next to Bilbo and the dwarves in the forest.
*Answer to March 4, 2011 Question* In the forest, Bilbo and the hear the howling of wolves, which are also called Wargs. They were in the middle of a clearing, so they ran to the trees to climb up them, but the branches were too high for Bilbo to reach. He was able to climb onto Dori's back and up a tree just as the Wargs came into the clearing. The Wargs found the dwarves, and they stood guard below each tree. Then the Wargs started their evil meeting while they were waiting for their partners, goblins. In the meantime, Gandalf sets fire to pine cones and started throwing them at the Wargs. The Wargs, being afriad of fire, go into chaos as their coats catch fire. That is when the goblins come into the clearing. The goblins have no fear of fire, and they helped control the flames into a bonfire at the center of the clearing as they sang their songs of hatred. Then they stacked up fuel at the base of the dwarves' trees. Meanwhile, the noble Lord of the Eagles is circling overhead. Seeing this evil, he gets some of his partners together, and they dive at the goblins just as the dwarves' trees caught fire. The goblins were attacked by the eagles, so they scattered and the Wargs followed. The fire was reaching higher and higher on the trees, so the eagles each picked up a dwarf from the trees. Bilbo was almost left behind, but he was able to grab on to Dori's legs as they were flown to safety. Great job! ~ Mrs. Best
Hobbit Question March 2, 2011 A good story contains conflicts to keep the reader reading. Three types of conflict frequently found in literature are...
Character against character
Character against nature
Character against self
Choose one conflict in The Hobbit, and explain how Tolkien uses it to move the story forward. Don't forget to cite page numbers when appropriate.
*Answer to March 2, 2011 Question* To keep the story moving, Tolkien uses the character against character conflict between the dwarves and the goblins as they are running through the tunnels. At this point, the Great Goblin had been slain, and the dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo are trying to find a way to escape. "Soon they could even hear the flap of goblin feet" (66), as the goblins continued to gain on them. This really keeps the story moving because Tolkien uses many examples of sensory imagery, and this really makes the conflict come alive. As you are reading, you can almost see "the blink of red torches" (66), or hear "the cries and howls getting closer and closer" (66). This makes the reader feel the tension and the worry that the band of heros is feeling. Then, after fending off the goblins, the tension rises again as the goblins "chose out their quickest runners... swift as weasels in the dark, and with hardly any more noise than bats" (67). This situation keeps the reader looking ahead, trying to figure out the fate of their little friends. The page is blur as the goblins attack again, this time without warning. Then, Bilbo "rolled off his [Dori's] shoulders into the blackness, bumped his head on a rock, and remembered no more" (67). This sentence ends the page and chapter. By putting suspense in the conflicts, Tolkien draws his readers into the story, leaving them with curiosity that urges them to turn the page. This is such a wonderful response. I would love to use it as an example. Would you mind? ~Mrs. Best
Hi Allison!
I agree completely! I think that the suspense that Tolkien
uses to make the scenes interesting really add to the story.
The sensory details are really fun and add to the story as
well. The conflicts really do make the book come alive. I
think this is a really good response!
Sarah M.
Click here to go back to the student pages!!!!
Hobbit Question 4 March 29, 2011
If Thorin could have lived, do you think he would have regretted his greed? What do you think Tolkien is trying to teach us about material wealth by Thorin's death? In your response, site textual evidence to support your response. Use page numbers too
*Answer to March 29, 2011 Question*
I think Thorin would have regretted his greed. He got so caught up in the joy of being in his home again, and he did not want to see his precious treasures go right after he just got them back. I think this blinded him from the rationality of the word SHARE. Now that the great war was over, he would probably regret his meaningless greed, which almost lost him a dear friend, Bilbo. Thorin also put his friendship with the men of lake-town in jeopardy, when in response to Bard's plea for help he said, "to the treasure of my people no man has a claim... but nothing we will give under the threat of force" (265 & 266). In the last moments of his life, Thorin saw what a mess his greed had made of things, and he took back all his words of hatred. I still think that Thorin would have repented even if he was not on his death bed. Without the men of Lake-town and the elves, the dwarves would have been crushed by the goblins, and not giving their friends any of the treasure would result in disaster. As Thorin said in his last few breaths, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world" (290). In this sentence, Tolkien is saying that if we hold gold and material wealth the highest in our lives, disaster is the only outcome. Friends are lost, people are hurt, and lives are torn apart. But, when we hold the treasures of singing karaoke with friends, baking cookies with grandma, and reading stories with Mom closest to our hearts, we will be forever happy. True happiness comes from finding the gold in the hearts of the people around you. It's about finding the silver in the moments shared with family, and the bronze in the laughter of life. If we have "some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure," (290), and we let our Tookish side shine now and then, we will have a happy life, a hobbit's life. It will be full of laughter, tears, and adventure now and then, but there will always be a cozy hobbit hole waiting for us at the end of the day, and that is all we will ever need to be truly content. ~What good thoughts. I think that Tolkien would completely agree with you! Especially the baking cookies part!! ~Mrs. Best
Hobbit Question 3 - March 20, 2011
When Gandolf first visits Bilbo, looking for someone to share in an adventure, Bilbo tells Gandalf that hobbits are
"...plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them "(7).
The dwarves are not quite sure that Bilbo will be able to handle the adventures at all, and Bilbo himself wonders how he found himself at The Green Dragon Inn, riding a pony away from Hobbiton. But now, Bilbo has become the unspoken leader of the party. Without Bilbo, the dwarves would never have made it to Lonely Mountain.
Is an adventure something that happens to us or how we react to what happens? Often in life, adventures are not as obvious as killing giant spiders or escaping from an Elven king's dungeon. Sometimes adventures are made out of ordinary days and ordinary events, with ordinary people who become the heroes. You may not even realize you've been in an adventure until after it's over!
Think about the times you have learned a new skill, moved, changed schools, competed in sports, welcomed a new pet, discovered a new friend, performed in front of an audience, or had a terrifying fall. These events are adventures in process. Have you grown or changed from your experience with any of these situations, as Bilbo grew and changed
because of his adventure with the dwarves? Recall a time when something happened to cause you to grow and change in a positive way. Respond on your wiki page
*Answer to March 20, 2011 Question*
I felt like I found adventure when I went to a survivor girl scout camp. In this situation I went looking for adventure, but at first I did not think that I would find it. On our very first challenge, a fire challenge, we got last place. In The Hobbit, the same was true when "they [the goblins] seized Bilbo and the dwarves"(60). I could relate to Bilbo in that my team was made up of girls I did not really know. Our camp had just started and it seemed like we would never come out champions. The same was true for Bilbo. His travels had just started with these unfamiliar dwarves, and already their adventure was in jeopardy of failing. Then, he had a stroke of luck, between finding the ring, and getting back to his friends, despite the strenuous circumstances. The same was true in my adventure. Our next challenge was codes and signs with making a path through the woods. Our forest spot was awful, with almost no where to expand our path, but we did our best. Turns out, we got first place in that challenge. Just like Bilbo, where "the dwarves looked at him with quite a new respect"(94), I felt like everyone on my team learned to respect each other's ability's that day. We had a series of other challenges, and I was even named the best listener by my teammates. I can really relate to Bilbo in that he was never the head-honcho, but his contributions were very important. This was especially true when he found "a dozen bundles hanging in a row from a high branch"(157) in the forest, surrounded by spiders. His friends needed him, and he pulled through. That is just like when we had a knot tying challenge at camp. I said that I would do the hardest knot. I was able to pull through along with my friends, and we got first place in this challenge too. Then, the final challenge came around. It had snippets of all the other challenges of the week. This was the final stand, just like when the dwarves had finally come upon "the Desolation of the Dragon"(203). The whole journey from there on, they had to work as a team to reach their goal. The same was true for my survivor team. We all had to work together, otherwise our whole challenge could fall apart. But in the end, our team was victorious. We came out survivor champions. Bilbo and the dwarves were successful too. They worked together, and Smaug was dead. My adventure made me see that everyone has self-worth, and by working as a team, anything is possible. I think that each person in the world can find their own adventure. Some go looking for it, others try to avoid it, but the reality is that adventure can happen on a whim. Even if you go looking for it, you may not find adventure. Adventure finds and captures people, and it is up to the "victim" to decide what they are going to make of the situation. That is exactly what happened to Bilbo. He never wanted anything to do with adventure, but when it showed up on his doorstep he jumped in with it when "something Tookish woke up inside him"(15). I never thought that I would ever be able to read navy flags or follow a compass, but I did. Adventures can be any time when you make the best of a situation and you don't regret it. True adventures are ALWAYS worth the trouble of starting them, because when you finish feeling like you gave it your all, nothing else matters. ~Great job! Sounds like it was really a FUN adventure with a degree of uncertainty... like Bilbo's but minus the danger! ~Mrs. Best
Hobbit Question 2 - March 4, 2011
In your own words, describe what happens next to Bilbo and the dwarves in the forest.
*Answer to March 4, 2011 Question*
In the forest, Bilbo and the hear the howling of wolves, which are also called Wargs. They were in the middle of a clearing, so they ran to the trees to climb up them, but the branches were too high for Bilbo to reach. He was able to climb onto Dori's back and up a tree just as the Wargs came into the clearing. The Wargs found the dwarves, and they stood guard below each tree. Then the Wargs started their evil meeting while they were waiting for their partners, goblins. In the meantime, Gandalf sets fire to pine cones and started throwing them at the Wargs. The Wargs, being afriad of fire, go into chaos as their coats catch fire. That is when the goblins come into the clearing. The goblins have no fear of fire, and they helped control the flames into a bonfire at the center of the clearing as they sang their songs of hatred. Then they stacked up fuel at the base of the dwarves' trees. Meanwhile, the noble Lord of the Eagles is circling overhead. Seeing this evil, he gets some of his partners together, and they dive at the goblins just as the dwarves' trees caught fire. The goblins were attacked by the eagles, so they scattered and the Wargs followed. The fire was reaching higher and higher on the trees, so the eagles each picked up a dwarf from the trees. Bilbo was almost left behind, but he was able to grab on to Dori's legs as they were flown to safety. Great job! ~ Mrs. Best
Hobbit Question March 2, 2011
A good story contains conflicts to keep the reader reading. Three types of conflict frequently found in literature are...
Choose one conflict in The Hobbit, and explain how Tolkien uses it to move the story forward. Don't forget to cite page numbers when appropriate.
*Answer to March 2, 2011 Question*
To keep the story moving, Tolkien uses the character against character conflict between the dwarves and the goblins as they are running through the tunnels. At this point, the Great Goblin had been slain, and the dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo are trying to find a way to escape. "Soon they could even hear the flap of goblin feet" (66), as the goblins continued to gain on them. This really keeps the story moving because Tolkien uses many examples of sensory imagery, and this really makes the conflict come alive. As you are reading, you can almost see "the blink of red torches" (66), or hear "the cries and howls getting closer and closer" (66). This makes the reader feel the tension and the worry that the band of heros is feeling. Then, after fending off the goblins, the tension rises again as the goblins "chose out their quickest runners... swift as weasels in the dark, and with hardly any more noise than bats" (67). This situation keeps the reader looking ahead, trying to figure out the fate of their little friends. The page is blur as the goblins attack again, this time without warning. Then, Bilbo "rolled off his [Dori's] shoulders into the blackness, bumped his head on a rock, and remembered no more" (67). This sentence ends the page and chapter. By putting suspense in the conflicts, Tolkien draws his readers into the story, leaving them with curiosity that urges them to turn the page. This is such a wonderful response. I would love to use it as an example. Would you mind? ~Mrs. Best
Hi Allison!
I agree completely! I think that the suspense that Tolkien
uses to make the scenes interesting really add to the story.
The sensory details are really fun and add to the story as
well. The conflicts really do make the book come alive. I
think this is a really good response!
Sarah M.